


Just a Fool's Hope

by SerStolas



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, Lyrium Addiction, Lyrium Withdrawal, Post Trespasser, Post-Game, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-14 09:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13587414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerStolas/pseuds/SerStolas
Summary: It was well known that during the Inquisition that Inquisitor Trevelyan and Commander Rutherford engaged in a relationship.  Somewhere along the way, though, the Inquisitor turned away, hoping to save the Commander pain were she to die against the Elder One.  When she survived, an awkward friendship remained throughout the remainder of the Inquisition.  Once the Inquisition disbanded, the former Commander left.  While most surviving Templars rejoined the Chantry, one chose to follow the former Commander's path and leave.  Lysette appointed herself bodyguard for the former Inquisitior and the two traveled as friends.  But now lyrium withdrawal threatens her friend and sister-in-arms, and the Inquisitor must turn to her former Commander for help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dragon Age belongs to Bioware
> 
> So I know this is sort of an odd premise. It occurred to me after completing a recent play-through that not all Templars might want to return to the Chantry and allow someone to hold their Lyrium leash, as Cassandra once put it. I figured Lysette might feel some duty to the Inquisitor, a rogue now dealing with the loss of an arm, or that the two might be friends, after surviving Haven. I also wondered how that friendship might draw Cullen and Trevelyan back together.

Skylar Trevelyan, former Inquisitior, youngest of Bann Treveylan's three children, a Comtesse of Kirkwall, and former rogue, sat in the quiet of night in the room of an inn lit by a single candle. The wooden, stiff backed chair was pulled up to the bed of one former Templar, Lysette, Trevelyan's friend and the former Inquisitor's self-appointed bodyguard. 

Trevelyan dipped a cloth in a bowl of cool water and placed it gently on Lysette's forehead, wiping away fever sweat. The local healer assured Trevelyan with the herbs they'd given Lysette that the fever would break by morning. 

Skylar could only hope that was true. 

Lysette and been one of Skylar's steadfast companions over the past year and a half since Skylar had chosen to disband the Inquisition. After the disbanding, most of the remaining Templars that Skylar and her companions had saved at Therinfal Redoubt had returned to the fold of the Chantry in some form or another. There were certain reforms in place now under the direction of Divine Victoria, formerly Leliana, Inquisition Spymaster. 

Leliana for one had taken to heart Cassandra and Cullen's words regarding the lyrium leash the Templars were originally held under, and ordered a number of reforms regarding dosage and use of lyrium. Even some of those changes hadn't been enough for some though, and a few Templars had chosen to leave the Order completely. Lysette had been one of those. All the Templars knew that the Inquisition Commander had left the order and ceased taking lyrium, and Lysette had wished to follow his example.

Lysette had also, upon leaving the Order, appointed herself as the bodyguard of the former Inquisitor. Skylar had argued against it, originally, but Lysette had told the former Inquisitor, thankfully in private but rather bluntly, that Skylar was just now learning how to live with the use of only one arm, and while Skylar had once taken down parties of bandits with ease, she'd need to learn a new method of self defense. Since Lysette still felt some sort of debt to Skylar after surviving Haven, the former-templar felt the arrangement would benefit them both. Lysette gained a new purpose, and Skylar gained a helping hand who could help protect her until such a day as she might maintain her own former level of self defense.

Neither woman spoke of if that would actually ever happen. It was hard enough to learn how to eat with just one hand, let alone fight.

In return, Skylar informed Lysette that if she was going to stop taking lyrium, they were going to make it a process. Lysette would suffer from withdrawal at some point regardless, but just how much she suffered could possibly be controlled, to a point at least.

Thankfully for both of them, Leliana had kept meticulous notes regarding the Commander's own withdrawal, something Skylar suspected that Cullen had remained unaware of. It gave them a guide of sorts.

After the first six months of seeing the Inquisition disbanded, Skylar and Lysette had traveled to Kirkwall for awhile. The city still bore the scars of all that had happened, and Skylar had helped where she could with the rebuilding, using the title of Comtesse that Varric had thoughtfully bestowed upon her. They'd also begun the real process of weaning Lysette off the lyrium.

The past few months had been the most difficult, as the dosage that Lysette took dwindled into nothingness. As the symptoms of withdrawal had grown worse, Skylar had begun to fear for the woman she'd come to regard as a friend.

It was Hawke who had offered a solution.

Skylar had spent much time in Kirkwall in the company of Varric, and his trusted advisor, Lady Hawke and her spouse, Fenris Hawke. While Skylar had kept in touch with the majority of her former Inner Circle, her communications with Cullen had been sketchy at best. The awkward friendship that had resulted after her surviving the battle with the Elder One, after she'd foolishly ended their relationship to try and spare Cullen a broken heart (she'd gone and broken his heart anyway but ending their romance, Cassandra informed her in a biting tone later on. It had taken awhile to smooth out her friendship with the Seeker after that), had been one of the factors, Cassandra informed her later, in his decision to depart soon after the Inquisition had disbanded.

Hawke and Varric, though, had remained in touch with the former Templar, still friends with him after knowing him from Kirkwall. 

Hawke was the one who suggested that Skylar contact Cullen. The Commander had evidently formed the beginnings of a small Sanctuary in Fereldan for former Tempalrs who had left the Order. There was talk of finding a better location, but for now he was still in Fereldan near his family in Southreach.

So with some hesitance, Skylar had written her Commander, with Lysette's permission, and asked for help with a friend and former Templar's withdrawal and recovery from Lyrium addiction.

The reply had come a few weeks later.

_Lady Trevelyan,_

_I would be better able to help if Lysette were here, and currently cannot leave those I am assisting. Bring her here to Southreach._

_Your friend,  
Cullen Rutherford_

So now Skylar sat in an inn still a few days journey from Southreach, the journey slow and steady to help deal with both Skylar's own limitations, and Lysette's symptoms. 

Within just a few days, Skylar would once again see the man she'd never stopped loving and ask for his help for another friend. She had little doubt that he could help Lysette break free of the lyrium's song completely, but she still worried for Lysette's health. She also worried a little for her own emotional state. 

Cullen had put a necessary distance between them after she'd ended their relationship. While they'd remained friends, even after the Elder One had been defeated, she'd never quite had the courage to try and rekindle their romance, nor had Cullen appeared to display any desire to do so.

She was going to have to conduct herself carefully. She was here to get help for Lysette, and perhaps see where else she could help. No matter how much she still might love Cullen, she'd gone and squandered her chance at a life with him.

That didn't mean her heart didn't beat a little faster at the thought of seeing him again.

"Stop it," she hissed at herself, reaching out to place her right hand on Lysette's shoulder and sooth the half-asleep woman from fever-dreams.

She had more important things to worry about right now.

Eventually Lysette fell into an easier sleep as her fever broken, and Skylar let herself slump over the side of the bed and catch a few hours of sleep herself.

Lysette's eyes were a little clearer the following morning when Skylar gave her elfroot tea for the pain, but Skylar still insisted that the former Templar rest in the back of their wagon as she hitched their two horses to it and guided them back towards the road to continue their journey. In her more lucid moments, Lysette told Skylar was supposed to be the bodyguard, to which Skylar responded bluntly that in her current condition, Lysette was as likely to hurt herself as someone else. Neither of them cared for that exchange, but sometimes Skylar had to press the former templar hard to take care of herself.

When they finally reached Southreach two days later, Skylar almost melted with relief. Lysette was feverish again and Skylar disliked being on the road, but she'd deemed it better to get Lysette to more skilled care than her own than to pause and camp again for more than just a night at a time. They'd both slept in the wagon the night before.

A one-armed woman guiding a wagon into town certainly attracted attention, Skylar thought with some bitterness and minor difficulty as they reached the edge of town. The attention did, however, allow her to get directions to the Rutherford farm a bit more easily. She had directions from Cullen, but after weeks and weeks of travel, she wanted to get some additional confirmation before she took them into the country side.

She held her head high as her mother had taught her and ignored the stares, guiding the wagon along the road, following the directions she'd been given. Some time later, as they passed farmers fields, she saw a tawny haired man in the distance that reminded her a bit of Cullen, and a collection of buildings further back from the road. With a shrug, she turned the horses in that direction, hoping that Cullen had told his family (he had three siblings she recalled) to expect her and Lysette at some point.

The man, about Cullen's own height but a little younger looking, she saw when she got closer, was bailing hay, but he paused, leaning on his pitchfork when she brought the wagon to a halt. His eyes were a shade darker than Cullen's but the resemblance was enough that she knew he must be Branson.

He eyed her for a moment, focusing first on the horses and wagon, then the one armed woman in the driver's seat. His eyes widened, and then he set the pitchfork aside safely. "Inquisitor Trevelyan?" he asked, his voice a shade surprised.

"Just Skylar, or Trevelyan, if you please," Skylar replied with some humor. "I haven't been Inquisitor for awhile, thankfully. Are you Branson Rutherford?"

"I am," he acknowledged. "My brother mentioned you might be arriving with a former Templar at some point, though he wasn't quite sure when."

Skylar sighed and turned her head to where Lysette slept fitfully against a sack of supplies in the wagon bed, beneath a worn blanket. "Aye. Lysette here's experiencing lyrium withdrawal," she said quietly. "And Cullen I think will be far more knowledgeable on how to help her than I can be.."

"Well, welcome to the Rutherford farm," Branson told her, finally breaking into a slight smile. "If you'll bring the wagon around, I can get one of the boys to help me carry Lysette to the barracks and the mage Cullen recruited can take a look at her, then I can introduce you to those here. Cullen's in town with Mia getting supplies right now."

"Thank you, Branson," Skylar replied sincerely. The journey from Kirkwall had been trying indeed, and more than once both Skylar and Lysette had regretted not taking Hawke and Fenris's offer of help.

Once she pulled the wagon up closer to the buildings, and saw what looked like a building that had been converted from a barn, as well as a newer, smaller barn, Branson approached the wagon with an older man who carried the look of a seasoned, but worn, warrior. Between him and Branson they managed to carry Lysette inside the structure serving as a barracks on a makeshift stretcher as Skylar climbed down off the wagon.

Another woman appeared, younger than the man but bearing a bit of the same worn but content look. Her deeply tanned skin and dark hair spoke of life under the sun, and she greeted Skylar with a smile. "Lady Trevelyan? Let me get your horses unhitched and we can take them to the bar. Not too many animals around here but goats and the chickens, so there's plenty of space for them."

"Just Trevelyan, please," Skylar said, and at the woman's arched brow wondered how many times she'd be repeating that phrase as she helped as best she could with the unhitching, and lead her own horse into the stables. 

"Thanks for bringing Lysette here," the woman told her as they fed the horses. "Not too many would worry much about a former Templar. But you...well Cullen says you were always a bit different. I'm Cyra, by the way."

"Mages went through a lot, but so did Templars," Skylar replied. "And Lysette is my friend, how could I do anything else?"

Cyra shrugged a little. "You'd be surprise," she told Skylar. "But I can see road weariness on you. I can finish grooming the horses. You head in the house, Rosalie'll be in the kitchen. While they still run the farm, whole family has decided to help Cullen out with this project," Cyra told her at Skylar's odd look. She patted Skylar on the shoulder with a familiarity that Skylar hadn't felt with many people recently. "Go get some tea and soup from Rosalie. You need it."

Skylar blinked and found herself following Cyra's directions from the barns towards the main house where the Rutherford family lived. She could hear singing and followed the voice, finding the pleasant alto belonged to a woman a bit shorter than Skylar herself, standing over a cutting board as she diced potatoes.

"Hello, Rosalie?" Skylar greeted her.

The woman immediately stopped singing and turned, her eyes going wide a moment, then smiling when she saw Skylar. "Skylar Trevelyan! Welcome! I'm so glad to finally meet you."

Rosalie's hair was a few shades darker than Cullen's, but her eyes were the same warm amber. Rosalie pushed Skylar into a nearby chair and brought her a cup of water and a bowl of soup from the fire. "Branson warned me you'd be coming in. Susanna should be here soon and can tell us how your friend is doing."

"Thank you," Skylar sighed, letting herself sink into the chair. It had been a long day already, but she knew that Lysette was safer now, and under good care, and none of those she'd met thus far seemed hostile towards her. She wondered how much Cullen had told them of their former relationship, and if they'd react differently depending on what they knew.

"You're probably a bit travel weary," Rosalie replied cheerfully. "You can relax a bit now though. Once you get situated tonight one of us can take you around and introduce you, show you around the farm." Rosalie went easily back to task of chopping as she spoke. "I've heard quite a bit about you, both from Cullen and rumor. It's nice to put a true face to the name though. You accomplished a lot as Inquisitor."

Skylar snorted between bites of soup. "Better that I'm not Inquisitor anymore," she told Rosalie. "If the Inquisition had continued everyone would have kept demanding I fix their problems. The past year's the first time I've really been able to live without Thedas hanging over my head in awhile."

Rosalie tilted her head a moment and nodded. "I suppose I didn't think of it that way. It would be rather stressful, wouldn't it?"

"A little," Skylar agreed.

Rosalie started to speak again when a tall, lovely woman perhaps a year or two older than Skylar swept into the room. She wore a no-nonsense dress much like Rosalie and a canvas apron. The woman's lovely blond hair was pulled into a simple but elegant bun and even in plain clothes, Skylar thought she might give a few at the Empress's court a run for looks. 

"Susanna," Rosalie greeted the blond woman pleasantly. "How are things?"

"Well, Lysette is as well as she can be with barely adequate care," Susanna sniffed, looking down one fine boned nose as she regarded Skylar. She eyed Skylar's missing arm. "So you're the Inquisition. You kept her alive at least until she got to a real healer, but I have to wonder at your training."

"I was a fighter, not a healer," Skylar replied, barely managing to keep the edge out of her voice at Susanna's unwelcome scrutiny. "But that's why I brought Lysette here, so she could get proper care."

"Hmm, you're lucky she's doing well," Susanna replied coldly.

Rosalie frowned and set her knife down, eyeing Susanna while mild censure. "That's not very polite, Susanna. I'm sure Skylar and Lysette had a difficult enough journey here."

Susanna waved her hand a bit dismissively. "Well she got the former Templar here where she can be properly looked after. I'm sure you can be on your way after that, Lady Trevelyan." She said the title almost as if it were an insult.

Skylar blinked. After the apparent warm welcome she'd gotten from Branson, Cyra, and Rosalie, she wasn't quite sure what to make of Susanna's seeming instant dislike of her.

"I'd rather stay for a bit and see Lysette through some of her recovery," Skylar replied in a pointed tone.

"As you should," Rosalie nodded.

"Just ensure you do not get in the way," Susanna replied with another sniff before sweeping out of the room.

Skylar stared after her.

Rosalie sighed and shook her head. "Sorry about that. I didn't quite expect her to take such a dislike to you."

"I know I'm no healer, and I suppose Lysette is in much better hands, but why does she seem so..?  
' Skylar paused, looking for the right word.

"Cold?" Rosalie offered. She sighed. "Probably because you broke Cullen's heart." She held a hand up when Skylar opened her mouth instinctively to protest. "Know that the family doesn't hold you in contempt for it, Skylar, but it was hard on Cullen nonetheless." She smiled a little sadly. "But some of us have more forgiving hearts than others. You helped Cullen through his own withdrawal, and remained his friend even after your relationship ended. For that we're more than willing to forgive you. But Susanna is close to Cullen. She's also a bit more judgemental."

"I...see," Skylar said at last. "Well, I guess I'll just try and stay out of her way then."

"Might be for the best while you're here," Rosalie agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cullen and Mia return home to discover Skylar and Lysette have arrived, and Cullen finds himself a bit at odds with his own emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dragon Age belongs to Bioware

Cullen smiled faintly as he watched his niece and nephew tumble out of the wagon, following Mia as she began to unload sacks of supplies they'd purchased in Southreach. The smile on Mia's face as she watched her son and daughter brought some joy to his heart, knowing how much pain she had been through, now, during his time away. 

Mia's husband had been a victim of things pouring out of a Rift during the Breach, leaving her widowed to raise her young son and daughter alone. As their family always did, Rosalie and Branson had immediately rallied around her, helping her raise their niece and nephew. 

Cullen counted himself lucky that his family had never blamed him for his time away, or the fact that he hadn't been there to help them during the Blight, or in the chaos afterwards. He recalled one night when he'd first arrived home, six months after the Inquisition had disbanded, and he'd awoken to another round of nightmares. Mia had found him in the kitchen and in his sleep deprived state he'd found himself admitting more than he'd meant to, about his time at Kinloch, some of Kirkwall, and during the Inquisition.

In the end Mia had embraced him, smacked him lightly on the shoulder, and told him he was her brother and that their family would always love him, and could not blame him for things beyond his control.

Since that time he'd opened up slowly, told them some of the bare bones of his years with the Templars, and after. He spoke more readily of his time with the Inquisition, preferring to dwell on more pleasant memories.

And the Inquisitor had appeared in many of his stories, how could she not? He'd told them quietly, one night after the children were in bed, about his short lived romance with the Inquisitor, and how they'd forged a friendship afterwards, though not as close as they'd once been. He'd been honest when he said one reason he'd finally traveled home was because he could not think of anything tying him to Skyhold anymore, or the Inquisitor.

And when he'd breached the idea of starting a sanctuary for former Templars, his family had embraced the idea, knowing what they did of his own time after leaving the Order, and witnessing some of the lingering affects of his former addiction to lyrium. Mia was the one who had encouraged him to write Divine Victoria, who had given her wholehearted approval of the venture, which had lead to some monetary support from the Chantry.

It was small still, half a dozen former Templars living in a converted barn on the Rutherford lands. Necessary materials were tight at times, and he knew that their healer, Susanna, was often weary with the amount of care some of the former Templars required.

Susanna, now there was a woman who was a gift from the Maker. He'd met her originally in Kirkwall, a midwife and herb healer who helped those in Darktown. He remembered her care of the lyrium addicts in Kirkwall, and the fact that she'd been one of the few sympathetic souls towards them, well to all but Samson, but no one really liked Samson. So he'd written her, and Susanna had appeared on the Rutherford doorstep one day, smart, sensible Susanna with her kind heart and fair and steady manner.

She was precisely what the former Templars here needed to help them through the withdrawal process, or to help ease their pain in the end.

Branson appeared a few minutes later to help Mia unload the wagon and waved Cullen towards the barracks for the former templars. "You may want to go in and speak to Susanna," his brother told him. "Skylar and the former templar Lysette arrived just a few hours ago. Susanna's had time to take a look at Lysette. I believe Skylar is inside helping Rosalie with dinner."

Cullen froze in the motion of unhitching the horse and glanced at Branson. He had not expected his brother to so casually announce that the former Inquisitor was here, on the farm. He hadn't expected her to arrive today either..

"Skylar?" Mia asked, raising her brows. "You seem quite familiar with Lady Trevelyan already."

Branson sorted. "Don't call her Lady Trevelyan, or her glare will scathe you, I promise. She advised me quite firmly to call her by her first name, or Trevelyan." He looked thoughtful at that. "I don't think she quite likes being reminded she's a noble, actually. She looked rather ordinary when they arrived, sitting on the wagon seat and guiding it with that one hand of hers. There was really nothing about her that screamed nobility except for perhaps her carriage. She was in leather trews and a jerkin, nothing fancy, and rather worried about Lysette."

Cullen couldn't help but smile a little. Yes, Skylar had always been unlike the nobles of Orlais, but then she was a Free Marcher. She was also, he remembered, a third child, and may not have thought much of her title anyway. "Sounds like her," he found himself saying.

"Hmm, well after we finish with the goods I think I'll go meet this Skylar," Mia announced. "Cullen, why don't you go and see Susanna, Branson will help me with the wagon."

Cullen wasn't entirely sure if he wanted his older sister getting a hold of Skylar before he'd had the chance to talk to her, but then she'd evidently already met Branson and Rosalie. Mia was a force of nature, but then Skylar was too. She could handle herself.

Cullen saw to the horse and turned the gelding over to Cyra's competent hands before heading into the barracks and the stillroom where Susanna did most of her work when not seeing patients.

"Susanna?" he inquired, pausing outside the door. It might be his family's farm, but the stillroom was Susanna's territory and he wasn't going to just barge in.

"Cullen, good, you're home," Susanna's smiling voice greeted him and he pushed the door open to find her leaning over a ledger, carefully marking off the amounts of herbs she had on hand. "I hope you managed to get more spindleweed, we're almost out."

"We did, though it was a bit more expensive than if we'd gathered it ourselves," he admitted as Cullen glanced over the numbers on the ledger. He sighed. They were keeping things in the black for this month, but barely, even with Chantry support. They needed additional funding.

They needed a lot of things really.

"We'll need it with my newest patient," Susanna sighed. "Poor Lysette. Her fever's been treated at least over the past few days, and Lady Trevelyan did manage to keep her properly hydrated and fed on the journey here." 

Cullen glanced up at Susanna with his amber eyes, looking into her serious green, his brow creasing for a moment as he caught the coldness in her voice at the words 'Lady Trevelyan.' It seemed unlike Susanna. She was one of the kindest and warmest people he knew.

"I take it your interactions with Skylar haven't gone well?" he asked carefully.

Susanna waved a hand. "Oh she got Lysette here well enough, but she really should have brought her sooner. And now besides another patient, we have another mouth to feed here. Things are tight enough already as it is. Rosalie's already stretching her supplies, she doesn't need the additional stress of someone standing about who can't help out much, none of us do."

Again, Cullen felt a bit of confusion. "What do you mean? I did assume Skylar would stay awhile to watch over Lysette. The woman's been her bodyguard for the past year and a half."

"Yes, but what is she going to do while she's here?" Susanna asked. "She can't very well help out much on the far with that single arm of hers."

"I'm sure there's something," Cullen shrugged. He recalled that Skylar never did like being idle.

There were many things he recalled about Skylar now, realizing that he'd be seeing her again soon. Even after she'd ended her relationship, it hadn't erased the emotions he felt towards the fire-haired woman. It had complicated them, but it hadn't erased them. Even over three years since their relationship had ended, he couldn't deny now that some part of him looked forward to seeing her.

He tilted his head at Susanna.

Susanna flushed a bit. "Alright, sorry Cullen. I may have been a bit...sharper with Lady Trevelyan than I intended. With the stress of a new patient and how thin things are stretched..."

There was more Susanna wasn't saying, and Cullen sighed inwardly.

He and Susanna were fond of each other, and if he'd been any other man, it might have been enough to establish a good relationship and perhaps even marriage.

But he didn't love Susanna, not as he had loved, still loved, Skylar, though he swore to himself he wouldn't let that get in the way of things now. Skylar had moved on with her life, so had he. They were friends now, nothing more, nothing less.

"I'm sure things will smooth over between the two of you once you two get to know each other," Cullen offered. "You are one of the kindest people I know, Susanna. And Skylar, well, she can be a bit temperamental, but she's got a good heart, and she wants to try and do what's best."

Susanna nodded, both of them silently agreeing not to mention that Cullen knew how Susanna felt, and Susanna knew how Cullen felt, and that they would never move beyond where they were now.

"I'll need to talk to her later," Susanna acknowledged, "to get an idea of what all Lysette has suffered from previously, so I can properly judge where she's at in her withdrawal."

Cullen nodded. He reached out a put a hand on Susanna's shoulder. "I know things are difficult, we're all stressed right now. We will figure things out though, find more funding and supplies, find a bigger place for the Sanctuary."

They would need a larger space if they were ever going to take more patients.

Susanna nodded, her expression turning determined. "Well, perhaps that's one thing this Skylar can help with," she said carefully, as if determined to find at least one thing positive about the new arrival. "She may have connections she can suggest to help us with resources."

"Knowing Skylar, she may have already considered a few," Cullen replied. "She was always very quick at making contacts, no matter where she went."

Susanna gave him a tight smile. "Well, I can tell you Lysette is resting now, as comfortably as she can. I'm going to go look in on Danos, make sure he is doing alright."

"I'd best go see what chaos is in the kitchen," Cullen said. "Skylar is evidently helping Rosalie, and she never was much of a cook."

Susanna nodded and turned back towards her ledger, clearly a dismissal, Cullen thought.

He forced his steps out of the room, towards the door, and the main house. He was about to see a woman he hadn't seen in over a year and a half, a woman he was still in love with, and convince himself yet again that there was nothing there, and that he'd best maintain those thoughts, and remember the ache she'd caused him, rather than risk their carefully forged friendship.

Cullen climbed the stairs to the back entrance of the house and opened the door, greeted by the scents of roasted meat and vegetables. He took in the sight of the large table in the center of the kitchen, with his niece and nephew already put to work chopping vegetables and kneading bread, Rosalie carefully attending the roasted ram over the fire, and Mia putting foodstuffs away as she spoke to another woman who was scrubbing for all she was worth with a single hand at a basin full of soapy water and dishes. 

The arm of the woman's left sleeve was carefully tacked and sewn up at the elbow, while the right sleeve was rolled up above the elbow. While Mia and Rosalie both wore sturdy brown and dull green, this woman's shirt was a deep russet, though clearly made of similar family to Mia and Rosalie's dresses. She wore brown leather trews over dusty leather boots, and an apron was tied around the back of her waist.

More familiar was the hair the color of bonfire flames, no longer long and to her waist as he remembered it, but cut short and barely to the nape of her neck. She paused, seeming to feel the eyes upon her, and turned to look over her shoulder, blinking once as deep gray-blue eyes met amber. She set the rag she held down carefully beside the basin and turned completely, offering Cullen a lopsided smile.

"Well hello, Cullen, it's good to see you again," Skylar greeted him in a faint, amused tone.

And he found he had no idea what to say in response.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skylar begins to settle onto the Rutherford farm, and she and Susanna come to an understanding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dragon Age belongs to Bioware

Skylar thought back to her reunion with Cullen as she lay on a nest of blankets on the floor that night in Rosalie's room. With sleeping space at a premium, Rosalie had informed her with cheerful bluntness that her options for a bed were either the hayloft or to share a room with Rosalie. Skylar had merely shrugged at that and told Rosalie she could sleep on the the floor of the other woman's room well enough. Rosalie's expression had been one of pleasant surprise to that announcement.

When Cullen had found his voice after a few minutes, evidently getting over surprise of seeing Skylar scrubbing dishes in his kitchen, he'd greeted her as an old friend. It was a better greeting, she supposed, than she expected, and certainly more friendly than Susanna had been. He'd clasped her right hand in greeting before being pulled in another direction by Mia to help prepare supper.

There'd been little opportunity to speak before bed that night. During dinner, a noisy affair of the family and former templars gathered around a large trestle table, Susanna had pointedly ignored Skylar, but she'd expected that, and Cullen had been engaged in discussions with Mia, Susanna, and one of the half a dozen former templars now living on the farm. He did have a sanctuary and a farm to manage with his family, Skylar thought, though some part of her wished they'd been able to speak for more than ten minutes.

Branson and Cyra kept Skylar occupied, though, asking her questions about her time in Kirkwall, inquiring how the journey from Kirkwall had been, and that sort of thing. 

After dinner, Cullen had vanished with Susanna and Petre, one of the former templars, and Mia's two children, evidently feeling braver now, had approached Skylar with some enthusiasm and started asking her about her adventures while she'd been Inquisition.

"Donnie, Eliza, don't bother Skylar so. She's a visitor here and just had a long journey," Mia scolded her children gently.

Skylar smiled kindly, finding herself amused by the children and shook her head. "It's alright, Mia. If they're willing to sit for stories, I can tell them a few."

So she'd spent the evening entertaining Donnie and Eliza with stories of slaying dragons and giants along the Storm Coast with her companions.

"Is the Iron Bull really as tall as they say?" Donnie asked, eyes wide.

"And is Lady Cassandra really a good warrior?" Eliza added, her eyes bright with wonder.

"Yes and yes," Skylar replied with a laugh, finding her heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks. The children's excitement was infectious. "Iron Bull is many handspans taller than me, and I've seen few who are Cassandra's equal with a sword and shield."

She'd yawned then, some of the road weariness beginning to overcome her and Mia had announced to the disappointed children that it was time for a bathe and they could ask Skylar for more stories tomorrow night.

"Your mother is right," Skylar had agreed. "We may have many evenings to tell stories, then perhaps you can teach me some you know."

Mia's eyes had shown with thanks as she herded her children off, and Rosalie had insisted that Skylar head to bed after such a long day.

Thus far the former templars she'd met, and Cullens's family had all welcomed her. It could have gone worse, she thought as she settled into the makeshift bed of blankets on the floor. She'd slept on worse on the road during campaigns.

"Sleep well, Skylar," Rosalie told her before blowing out the candle.

~~  
Over the next few days, Skylar found herself at a bit of a loss. The first day Cyra had given her a tour of the farm and the facilities that housed the former templars, and briefly told her about some of the plans for the sanctuary. They needed more space, Cyra had explained, and more funding, and she knew Susanna and Cullen were worried over it, though they would rarely speak of it to the recovering templars.

"Sometimes they treat us as if we're made of glass," Cyra remarked. "And sometimes not. We all have good days and bad days though, Cullen less than the rest of us, I suppose. He gives us hope, knowing there's a lyrium free future for us."

Midday Susanna had approached her and in a professional and carefully civil tone inquired about Lysette's treatment plan that they'd created and her various withdrawal symptoms. Susanna, it appeared, was trying to at least be civil to her, Skylar thought, though it was clear the woman was not fond of her, and Skylar made sure to answer any questions and inquiries carefully and with a vaguely friendly tone. She'd been assured multiple times that this woman had Lysette's best interest at heart, and Skylar felt no particular need to try and antagonize Susanna deliberately.

Even if she did suspect that Lysette and Cullen were involved.

Even if she did find herself feeling both jealous, and ashamed of her jealousy, over such thoughts.

Cullen she saw little of, except in passing and at meals, and Skylar was beginning to suspect he was avoiding her. Her main concern here was Lysette, but some part of her would have liked to have tried to renew their friendship.

But then Cullen had left the Inquisition as soon as he could, after she'd disbanded it, indicating perhaps he was allowing her presence here more as a courtesy than anything else.

The thought hurt, but it made sense. They had loved one another, and he'd been hurt when she'd ended their relationship. Did he really have any particular reason to try and renew their friendship?

Skylar tried to help Rosalie where she could. She really couldn't help Branson or the former templars in the field, and at least in the kitchen she could do some minor chopping and dish washing. it wasn't her preferred sort of work, but it was thing that needed to be done, and Skylar hated sitting idle. It was better, she felt, to pitch in where she could.

She visited Lysette when Susanna allowed, both women maintaining a careful civil courtesy to each other. At least Susanna was trying to be civil, Skylar thought. Her eldest brother hadn't even tried when she'd gone back to see her family for a few weeks after the Inquisition had disbanded. She'd left after two weeks, quietly resolving to never visit again.

She remembered a phrase Sebastian Vael had once used, when they were both children. Her parents had an heir and a spare, so being a third child...her parents might have never taken as much interest in her as they did had her second eldest brother turned out to be a mage and had been sent to the circle. At least he'd been genuinely fond of Skylar as a child, and she'd been devastated to learn he'd been killed during the Mage and Templar war.

When she'd visited home, her parents interest in her had merely been as a poor replacement for her second brother and for what prestite she might be as the former Inquisitor. , She'd decided she wanted nothing of it, so she'd gone to Kirkwall.

Funny how members of the Inquisition, even Vivienne, had cared more about her than her own blood-kin.

Here on the Rutherford farm, she just wanted to try and be useful.

It was annoying though, after four days here, that she and Cullen had barely exchanged more than half a dozen words since she'd arrived, and then when he wasn't at dinner that evening, she found herself muttering about it to Rosalie that night.

Rosalie paused. "Oh, Cullen left this afternoon to go and speak to a potential noble donor. I'm sorry I thought you knew."

"Rosalie, your brother is flat out avoiding me," Skylar replied in irritation.

Rosalie sighed. "Yes, I believe he is...perhaps when he's back you should approach him. It would be better for the two of you to have a professional relationship at least while you are here. I think he avoids you over your past romantic relationship though."

Skylar winced at that reminder, and reminded herself she had no one but herself to blame. But she would approach him and actually try and talk to him, rather than waiting for him to interact with her.

She felt though, by the end of the first week, that she was more in the way than anything. There were many things Rosalie could do more efficiently than a one handed helper, and though Rosalie was very kind about it, Skylar didn't want her, or anyone else's, pity.

She stalked past the barracks that housed the former templars, trying to cool her frustration, when she heard someone else's frustrated mutterings through an open window.

Skylar blinked and paused, and found herself peering into what appeared to be an office. Susanna sat at a makeshift desk, head bowed over what looked like lists, swearing to herself. 

She should just leave the healer alone, but curiosity, and a hope to relieve her own bored frustration, lead her into the building and into the office. She paused at the door, and could see now that Susanna was bent over pages of numbers, evidently trying to balance something, as she swore quietly to herself.

"What's wrong?" Skylar asked before she could stop herself.

Susanna gave her an irritated gaze. "If you must know I am trying to balance our budget and ensure we have enough for supplies to last us the month." Her tone seemed to indicate she had much else to do, but this was a necessary chore.

Skylar tilted her head for a moment. "Mind if I take a look?" she offered.

Susanna eyed her, frowning for a long moment before she gestured Skylar over. "You can't make it any worse than I already have."

Well if that wasn't a vote of confidence...

Skylar leaned over, regarding the careful line of numbers that Susanna was adding up.

"You need to carry the number from this column," Skylar finally said slowly, pointing to the second column of numbers. 

Susanna eyed it for a long moment and heaved a frustrated sigh. "Blast it...I can see that now. I have medicines to be mixing and barely had time for this and everything else."

That, Skylar thought suddenly, might be a good thing.

"Do you trust me enough to look over the numbers and balance them?" Skylar asked.

Susanna's eyes narrowed again. "Hmph. Well you found my issue, and I suppose you aren't doing anything else?"

"There's only so much I can do in the kitchen and not be in Rosalie's way," Skylar agreed, surprising Susanna with her tone. "You've got other things to do so I won't be in your hair while you do them and I'm in here."

Susanna nodded slowly. "Hmm..maybe you can be of a use here. Writings something you can't really do with two hands anyway." She rose and gestured towards the chair. "I'll be back in awhile to check your numbers." As she headed for the door, she paused, then, as if forcing the words from her throat, said, "Thank you, for offering."

"I hate being idle, I have not being useful," Skylar admitted to the healer. "Here at least I might do some good."

Susanna's expression turned surprised before she hurried off to tend to her other business.

Skylar spent the next several hours reviewing pages of careful notes and lists of prices and what had been purchased and sold from the far over the last few months. When the light outside began to dim she simply lit a candle and continued. it was Susanna herself who appeared at the office doorway sometime after dark, and regarded Skylar with an exasperated look. "It's time for dinner," the healer informed her, her tone no longer as carefully if coldly civil as it had been over the past few days.

"Oh," Skylar blinked and set down her quill. "I suppose I can finish this later."

"Or tomorrow," Susanna told her. "Come on, time to wash up."

"How far did you get?" Susanna inquired as they walked down the hall and out of the barracks towards the house. 

"I think I've managed to cover the past few months," Skylar said with a faint frown. "It's been running very close, with funds coming in from donations through the Chantry and what the farm makes, to keep everything running. "I also wonder if the local Chantry is actually giving you all the funds that have been sent by the Divine. I know Divine Victoria is quite interested in the Sanctuary. I may have to travel to town and have a talk with the clergy there in the next day or two, after I finish reconciling it all."

Susanna paused and looked at Skylar with a shrewd gaze. "We could use some help in that quarter," she said at last. "If you can reconcile our budgets, it would help. And then any support you might be able to lend..."

"I want this to succeed," Skylar said, gesturing around them. "Even if Cullen wishes to avoid me completely, well, he and I dealt with each other professionally during the Inquisition, I'm sure we can here." She tilted her head then asked softly. "Do you hate me, Susanna?"

Susanna blinked, and flushed a moment. "I did not like you, when I first saw you," the other woman admitted. "Because of the pain you caused Cullen...but I have been watching you this week. You're trying to help where you can, and with this...you could be a great help indeed."

Skylar took a deep breath and offered Susanna a hand. "My name is Skylar Trevelyan, and I would like to help here with what I can."

Susanna took her hand and clasped it firmly. "My name is Susanna," she replied. I'm the healer here. And I'd like to see what help you might be able to offer."

As they continued on to dinner, Skylar thought, it was a start at least. And when Cullen returned, she'd speak to him and try to at least establish a working relationship. They'd managed before. Surely they could manage that again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cullen returns home from his trip and finds himself surprised by recent developments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns Dragon Age, I do not.

Cullen felt a mild sense of relief as he rode into view of the Rutherford family farm and the Sanctuary. He'd been away for nearly a month and a half, some weeks longer than he'd planned, in part due to his hosts and in part due to frequent rains and flooding that made for difficult travel conditions. The Sanctuary could function without him for longer, but this was his project, his life now, and he preferred to oversee it as much as possible.

He was less looking forward to the awkwardness between himself and the Sanctuary's most recent resident. It had proved a bit more difficult than he'd first expected to be around Skylar again. Over his time away he'd resolved to pull on his lessons from the Inquisition. They'd worked together for over two years after their relationship had ended, and managed to find an even footing, they just needed to find it again. They could settle once more into a professional relationship, he thought, it might just take some time.

Skylar certainly hadn't pressured him with any particular questions or assumptions the few days she'd been there before his trip, though he admitted he'd gone out of his way to avoid her. That hadn't really been fair to either of them, since it just prolonged the awkwardness.

Cullen was fairly certain some part of him would always yearn for Skylar Trevelyan, but that didn't mean they couldn't function as friends. They'd done so before, they could do so again. Perhaps a game of chess tonight if there was time..

He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present as he rode into the muddy yard and dismounted, noting the normal activity. Branson and most of the former templars would be working in the fields, preparing them for early spring planting, while Mia, Rosalie and the children would be collecting eggs and doing general chores about the farm unless one of them was helping Susanna.

He wondered where Skylar had ended up as he lead his horse into the stables and began grooming the gelding before ensuring the horse had sufficient food and water. Everything had settled into a normal mid-day quiet, everyone on the farm off doing their own tasks, and so no one had come out to greet him. Cullen thought he could do with a cup of tea before checking in with Susanna. Lysette was their only serious patient right now, apart from poor Estren. Estren had been too far gone in withdrawal when he'd arrived six months ago, and Susanna had informed Cullen reluctantly all they could really do at this point was make him comfortable in the time he had left.

Cullen sighed as he entered the house and moved towards the kitchen, noting it too was empty, and wondered if one of his sisters was in town or if they were perhaps out gathering plants for Susanna. They were always running dreadfully short of elfroot and spindelweed. He rekindled the fire in the hearth and put on a kettle of hot water, debating if he should perhaps take a cup of tea to Susanna as well. She rarely took the time during the day to eat a proper lunch.

The kettle was beginning to whistle when he heard two voices and the back door to the kitchen opened, revealing Susanna in her normal homespun dress and apron, followed by, to his surprise, Skylar in leggings and tunic. 

"I think we can make it through the end of the month," Skylar was telling Susanna, her tone laced with concern. "But we're going to need further funding to continue providing for everyone without cutting into the funds needed to buy supplies for the farm. I sent a message to Val Royale yesterday, and I know Divine Victoria will provide what she can. We may also need to consider relocation...the farm is perfect for something small, but we are going to need a location where we are less reliant upon the good will and mercies of our neighbors."

"Were you able to wriggle anything out of the Revered Mother this morning?" Susanna asked, her tone curious.

Skylar scowled. "Empty words more than anything else...there are many good people in the Chantry, but there are just as many who I find completely useless. She gives me empty platitudes, but it seems clear she is one of those form whom Templars are convenient as long as the Chantry can control them, but she loses any interest when they are no longer 'useful.'" Anger laced her tone.

"Sadly her attitude is-" Susanna paused, both she and Skylar finally realizing that the tea kettle was whistling and they weren't alone in the kitchen.

Cullen had always thought Skylar a bit more observant than that, but sometimes she did get preoccupied when her mind was elsewhere.

Skylar's lips twisted into a slight smile as she moved towards the cupboard and pulled down tea cups. "Welcome home, Cullen. Sorry we didn't notice you before. Susanna's been busy in the still room and I've been busy in the office all morning."

"Cullen, you're home!" Susanna greeted him with a tight hug, and he swore he saw something flicker in Skylar's eyes for just a moment, something he couldn't read, before her smile returned and she went about the kitchen as if this were all perfectly normal.

"Susanna, Skylar," he greeted them, returning Susanna's hug before he grabbed a towel to pull the kettle off the fire. "I suppose you two want tea?"

"That would be nice," Susanna replied as she helped Skylar set the cups on the table and fetched one of the tins from the counter. "We were about to grab lunch before going back to work."

"Lysette had to remind us to eat after we brought her soup," Skylar added, chuckling softly.

"You're as bad as I am," Susanna told Skylar, her tone amused. 

Cullen had to keep himself from staring at the two. Evidently at some point during his absence, Skylar and Susanna had become friends.

He didn't know if that was a good thing or worrisome.

"Oh stop looking at us like that," Susanna told him. "Skylar and I can get along if we put our minds to it."

"We just have to try really hard," Skylar replied with humor. She tilted her head at Cullen. "How was your trip? You're back a week or two later than we expected."

"Long, and partially productive," Cullen admitted as he poured hot water into the three tea cups. Skylar put leaves on to seep while Susanna busttled about getting bread, cheese, and a bit of dried fruit for the three of them. "We gained two new donors, but for each noble I met that was interested in our cause, I met two more who thought it was a waste of time."

"Tiresome assholes," Skylar muttered. She glanced at Susanna. "I think I'll plan a trip to Denrium for in a month or so, see what I can drum up. I may as well put my former title to use."

"And maybe one for Orlais later this year," Susanna suggested. "Even the Revered Mother here does not like arguing with the Herald of Andraste." Cullen heard the friendliness and humor in her tone.

This really was a change from Susanna's attitude when Skylar had first arrived, and it had only been slightly less than two months..

He found himself smiling though at the thought that Skylar had always been this way. She could be very charming when she put her mind to it. The comradely between the two women seemed very genuine. 

"It's time to start thinking long term plans," Skylar agreed. "But after lunch, please."

Susanna laughed and handed Skylar a hunk of bread. "Of course."

"I also want to talk to you later," Skylar told Cullen, pointing the stump of her left arm at him. "Some ideas I've had while I've been balancing the books."

Cullen gave both women a rather confused look at this point. "While you've been balancing the books?"

"Skylar agreed to take over our accounting and some of the paperwork," Susanna explained. "She's got prior experience and it's been a huge lift on me while you've been gone. I see no reason why she can't continue if you agree."

Cullen regarded both women as he turned this new idea over in his mind. Evidently Susanna and Skylar were bound and determined to keep surprising him today. "It's a rather long term commitment," he said slowly. "Longer than just the recovery of a friend may be."

Skylar snorted. "And what else would I be doing but moping around in Kirkwall?" she asked. "At least here I can do some good." Her tone turned unsure. "That is if you are okay having me about."

Susanna was actually glaring at him a bit over Skylar's head now.

"I, er." Cullen took a deep breath, then said sincerely, "Skylar, if you are willing to help, we need all the help we can get. I'd be grateful if you'd be willing to stay on long term to help with the Sanctuary.

Skylar's smile returned, one he'd remembered from their later banter over the war table, when they'd figured out how to manage as friends again verses lovers. "Thank you, Cullen." She gave him a direct look. "Later, maybe not today, but soon, you and I will talk. There is a history between us, and I'd prefer we were both on the same foot if I'm going to be staying here. I don't expect anything from you, I just want to talk."

So she was on the same page, he thought, feeling some relief. "That's probably a good idea," he agreed.

"Discussions later, lunch now," Susanna swatted at both of them. "Tell us more about the trip, Cullen."

With a faint smile, he did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skylar and Cullen finally seem to be finding their balance in dealing with each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bioware owns Dragon Age.
> 
> Sorry for the update delay, it's been a crazy few months.

Another month came and went at the Sanctuary, and everyone seemed to be settling into their routines well. 

Lysette was beginning to have more good days than bad under Susanna's careful gaze and had begun helping out with some of the simple farm chores. The former templar and bodyguard slipped into the group of others here easily, finding easy comradery with the other templars who had come to the Sanctuary to recover from lyrium addition. During her off hours, she could often be found either playing Wicked Grace with two of the others, or out with the farm animals. She had a particularly good and gentle touch with the horses.

Cullen was pleased to see their newest resident was finding her place in the Sanctuary. Skylar had already told Lysette that if this was where Lysette wished to stay even beyond her recovery, Skylar fully supported the decision. The fact that Skylar had found her own place at the Sanctuary certainly helped.

It surprised Cullen at first how much more time he and Susanna were able to devote to other aspects of the Sanctuary with Skylar taking charge of the paperwork and communications. She always consulted with Cullen or Susanna before sending a reply to any inquiries, but rarely did Cullen find any reason to make changes to her initial drafts. It became obvious to Cullen just how much training she'd received in bookkeeping and diplomacy as a child. She wasn't as good as Josephine had been, but the Sanctuary didn't need anything on the scale that the Inquisition had.

As the weeks went on, it sometimes seemed as if Skylar and Lysette had always been at the Sanctuary. He could find Skylar and Susanna talking easily at lunch as they reviewed the list of necessary supplies for the patients, or listen to his sisters and Skylar laughing and flicking each other with soapy water while doing dishes in the evenings. 

He saw a side of Skylar he'd only caught glimpses of during his years with the Inquisition, even when they'd been involved with each other.

Without the pressures of the Inquisition and and the need to make world-altering decisions on a regular basis, Skylar was far more relaxed than he'd ever seen her at Skyhold. She'd never been particularly vain, but she'd always been aware during the Inquisition that she had to present a certain image to the world to be taken seriously. Now she seemed more than comfortable wearing castoffs for mucking in the stables when necessary or worn clothing that she'd never have let Vivienne see her in at Skyhold. Only in the way she sometimes spoke, or her dealings with authority figures did Cullen ever really see a glimpse now of the noblewoman he knew her to be.

He still admired her, he thought to himself as he watched her one evening at dinner, the day before she was set to leave for Denerim with Cyra. He felt confident they could function as friends while working together on the Sanctuary.

But that didn't mean that his heart didn't long for more.

~~

Skylar had never been so glad to see a village as she and Cyra rode into view of Southreach. They'd been gone seven weeks between traveling to and from Denerim and the time they'd spent courting support for the Sanctuary from the nobility. Cyra's presence had been welcome, someone that Skylar could vent to behind closed doors about dealing with some of the stuck ups among the nobility. It wasn't as bad, she told Cyra, as when she'd been in Orlais, because there were no actual masks for people to hide behind, but she still could sense a number of nobles hiding behind perfectly neutral expressions.

It wasn't as if Skylar hadn't spent her life dealing with nobility, and it wasn't as if she hadn't spent her years in the Inquisition playing the role of a noble herself, but she still found it exhausting in some ways. She didn't know how Josephine managed to deal with the nobility on a daily basis and still sooth over almost everyone's feelings.

While Cyra's technical role had been bodyguard for the Inquisitor (a title Skylar wasn't very fond of using now, but one she would and did when it benefited the Sanctuary), but she'd served more as another set of eyes. She'd share her observations with Skylar in the evenings when they were alone, advising her of some of those notable individuals that she'd seen observing them who might be sympathetic to their cause. 

It wasn't as good as having Leliana about, but it certainly helped.

King Alistair and Queen Anora were supportive of their cause, and they promised to send word along if they happened to hear of a good location for a new sanctuary. They also pledged some additional funds for the Sanctuary as a gesture of good will.

All in all it had been a successful trip. Running over numbers in her head, they'd make it into the new year, something that would relieve some of the burden temporarily off Suzanna and Cullen.

She still wanted to find another site for the Sanctuary though, somewhere notable enough for people to travel to, but secluded enough to allow recovering Templars privacy and space. She held her own thoughts on the perfect space for a Sanctuary, but she needed to see how Divine Victoria responded to the idea first. While the location had plenty of space, it came with it's own set of challenges and risks. 

"We'll be home soon at least," Cyra remarked as she rode next to Skylar, a grin on her face. "I don't know about you, but I've missed the Sanctuary. Too much activity in Denerim for my taste, though you may be more used to it."

Skylar snorted. "I'm not fond of overly crowded cities any more than you are, Cyra. The only reason I stayed in Kirkwall so long as I had friends there." She shook her head. "The Sanctuary is more my speed. I like the space. I like being able to step outside and hear myself think."

"And you like a certain curly headed former Commander," Cyra added slyly. 

Skylar's right hand tightened on the pommel of her saddle and she flushed faintly at those words. "Am I really that obvious?" she asked softly.

It was Cyra's turn to snort. "You and Cullen both, Trevelyan. I know your earlier romance ended years ago, but it is fairly obvious to anyone with eyes that you and Cullen are still head over arse for each other. Why don't you just say something to him? You were the Inquisitor. You took on the Orlesian court, surely you can work up the courage to try and spark a relationship again with Cullen."

Skylar shook her head sadly. "It isn't that easy, Cyra. I hurt him, badly, when I ended our first relationship. While I thought I had the best of intentions, it doesn't change the fact that I hurt him deeply, and myself in the process. We can't just pick up from where we left off."

"No," Cyra replied reasonably, "But you can try and start anew. Isn't that the point of the Sanctuary, to give people a second change?"

"I'll...think on it," Skylar said at last.

Suzanna was the first to notice their return to the Rutherford farm when they finally rode into view, out with Lysette in the fresh air, tending the small herb garden they'd planted a few months ago.

Skylar got a good look at Lysette as she slid out of the saddle, noting that Lysette looked far better than she had in months. Her coloring had returned and she'd regained some of the muscle mass she'd lost before she and Skylar had come to the Sanctuary. After hearing Skylar's commitment to the Sanctuary, Lysette had expressed her own desire to remain here and assist where she could. Evidently Suzanna had deemed her well enough to take over tending the herb garden while Cyra and Skylar were away.

"Welcome back," Lysette said softly, embracing the former Inquisitor without reserve, and Skylar sighed in relief, wrapping Lysette in a one armed hug. "How did things go."

As Skylar stepped back from Lysette to answer the question, Suzanna enveloped her in a hug as well. It was perhaps a bit unexpected, but definitely welcome, and a sign, Skylar thought, that she and Suzanna had definitely formed some sort of friendship in her time here. 

"Glad to see you back," Suzanna said in an amused tone. "Cullen has a head for military matters, but he can't keep the books as neatly as you can!"

"The trip was successful," Skylar informed them as she returned Suzanna's embrace. "We secured several more donors and some additional contacts. We'll be good for the next several months at least."

Suzanna smiled. "That is a relief. Now is we can just find a new location."

"I'm working on it," Skylar promised her.

Suzanna lifted a brow in curiosity but any additional questions she had were cut off by the excited shouts of Mia's two children and the greetings from the farm's other residents.

As Skylar was enveloped in many hugs, she wondered if Cullen's embrace lingered just a moment longer than the others, though he didn't quite meet her eyes as Mia took her turn to greet Skylar and Cyra.

Dinner was a lively affair, questions from all directions on the trip to Denerim and Cyra and Skylar's successes. Skylar couldn't help but notice that Cullen seemed to be avoiding her again, and it made her ache just a bit. She'd hoped they were beyond the awkwardness from before. Though if what Cyra said was true, he as just as in love with her as she was with him.

She shook herself. After the pain she'd caused him previously, she didn't know that he'd honestly want to try and enter a new relationship with her. Cullen had already been through so much.

Those thoughts whirled in her head as she settled into bed that night. She drifted into an uneasy sleep after an hour or so, haunted by amber eyes that right now wouldn't meet her gaze.

~~

She awoke with a start, a silent scream on her lips as she jolted upright. Her eyes scanned the darkness as she realized she was on her pallet in Rosalie's room, at the Sanctuary, not in the Fade. The stump of her left arm ached in memory of the green fire that had once flickered through her veins. She sighed, noting with some relief that she hadn't woken Rosalie. 

Skylar rolled out of her blankets and padded in leggings and oversized shirt (one of Cullen's, actually, that she'd stolen from him years ago when they'd still been together), towards the kitchen. She hoped a cup of tea might help sooth her frazzled nerves and help her sleep again.

She frowned as she reached the bottom of the stairs, catching the flicker of a candle from the direction of the kitchen. Slowly, quietly, she slipped across the wood floor on bare feet, pausing at the edge of the kitchen doorway.

Cullen sat at the long tressle table, shoulders slumped and fingers curled around a mug of tea.

Skylar took a deep breath, and stepped into the kitchen.

"Seems I'm not the only one unable to sleep," she remarked as she walked across to the counter. She noted a tea kettle, still warm from the fire, and poured herself some hot water to make her own cup of tea. Cullen didn't speak as he watched her go through the motions, then walk to the table and settle across from him.

"No, you aren't," he said at last into the dim candlelight. His grasp around his tea mug tightened. "I still get nightmares, after all these years."

"I remember," Skylar replied in a soft voice. "You once said you slept better...when you weren't alone." She made a sound, somewhere between a laugh and sob. "Guess that's another thing I managed to mess up, eh?"

"Skylar!" Cullen's voice was sharp, and her head jerked up, blue gray eyes meeting amber, his gaze searching her own. 

After what seemed like an eternity, he reached across the table, taking her right hand in his. "Yes, Skylar, I always slept better when I was with you," he finally said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "It was more difficult, without you there. Is more difficult."

"Maker, Cullen, I'm sorry," Skylar felt herself trembling. "I wanted to protect you, and instead I ended up just hurting you."

"You did," he agreed. "I get why you did it, but then you didn't die." His eyes held hers steadily. "And then I had to look at you across the table at every war meeting, remembering how you used to look at me. And it ached."

"I never did stop loving you," Skylar whispered. "I still do, but after what I did?"

Cullen gave a wry smile. "I tried moving on, you know, but you burrowed your way past ever defense I'd erected, and once my heart was yours, I couldn't, can't give it to anyone else."

Skylar remembered Cyra's words from earlier that day.

"A wise person told me that the point of this Sanctuary was to give people second changes," Skylar said with a boldness she did not feel.

"Second changes, hmm?" Cullen lifted his blond brows. "I might be willing to give it a second change, but," he squeezed her hand firmly, "We'd have to talk to each other. Trying to spare each other's feelings and not communicating will only make things worse, you know."

Skylar laughed weakly. "You're right on that." She felt her heart beating a little faster. "So, do you think we can?"

Cullen's amber eyes darkened a moment, and in response, he leaned across the table, and pressed a gentle kiss against Skylar's lips.

Candlelight flickered across her features and she leaned into the kiss, and felt an answering smile against her lips.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone around the Sanctuary has noticed a change in Cullen and Skylar.
> 
> Oh look, fluff for the happy couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Dragon Age.

After that first gentle kiss in the middle of the night, Skylar and Cullen had decided to take it carefully, if not necessarily slowly. They were both different people than they'd been during the Inquisition. Their original romance had formed under rather chaotic and stressed circumstances. Every mission Skylar left Skyhold on could be her last. Every battle the Inquisition fought could end in one or both of their deaths.

This time there was no panic; there was no desperation. Even with as busy as the Sanctuary could be some days, they had quiet moments where they could take a walk together without worrying the world would come to an end while they were gone or an emergency that someone else couldn't handle would pop up. Two days after their nighttime encounter, when Cullen had casually asked Skylar to take a walk with him, she had no qualms in saying no. She saw the looks those at the table gave her, ranging from 'finally,' amused smiles, and eye rolls, but no one really seemed disapproving. Suzanna was watching them curiously and Skylar had a feeling she'd get the shovel talk later, but she'd calmly followed Cullen out the back door of the house and walked with him through the fields surrounding the Sanctuary.

As they walked, watching the sun begin to set over the horizon, Cullen gently entwined the fingers of his left hand with Skylar's right, and smiled softly at her when she squeezed his hand. Leopold, Cullen's Mabari, trotted ahead of them, often bounding ahead several meters before he trotted back, barking excitedly at them.

Skylar felt a sense of peace overtake her as she walked with Cullen, and when they paused by a stream, listening to the water flow over the stones, she inhaled the sweet air and sighed in contentment. She stood for several moments, feeling Cullen's hand move from her hand to her back, along her left shoulder, then wrap gently around her waist. She let her eyes flutter open, barely remembering closing them, and met his amber gaze.

"What's on your mind?" Cullen asked, watching her with an expression she'd only seen on the rare quiet morning in Skyhold when they'd been able to lay in bed and just enjoy each other's company.

She smiled. "This. The fact that we can go for a walk after dinner together and not worry about the world ending. I know it seems so mundane, and the Inquisition only lasted a few years, but that time seems to occupy most of my memories. All that chaos, all that worry. Now that I have time to actually just enjoy spending time with you, just walking, it feels like a luxury."

Cullen pulled her lightly against him, her back pressed against his chest, and kissed her cheek lightly. "I know what you mean. As a Templar, little intimacies like this weren't exactly encouraged. They weren't forbidden, certainly, but there wasn't a lot of opportunity when I served in Fereldan to meet anyone. Then Kirkwall, well," he let his voice drift off as he felt Skylar turn in his arms, running her fingers comfortingly along his cheek. "When you and I came together, you know I wasn't a virgin, but I'd never really experienced a relationship before either."

"I only had one, before you," Skylar said slowly. "I don't even know that I'd call it much of a relationship. I was courted, but I never had much romantic interest in him. It was more of a mutual beneficial sort of thing." She leaned up, speaking her words against Cullen's lips. "But love? I didn't really know that until I met you. And I didn't realize how deep it ran until I rather foolishly broke it off."

"I think we've both learned a bit since then," Cullen replied as he pressed his lips back against hers. She sighed into the kiss. When he pulled back he regarded her with with a wry smile. "Perhaps I should have fought harder then. But lets not dwell on our past mistakes, beloved." He lifted a brow at her. "You know you don't have to keep sharing Rosalie's room."

Skylar gaped at him. "I thought you wanted to take things slow." This new confidence of his surprised her.

"I want to take things carefully," he replied. "Meaning I want the two of us to communicate. I want us to work through issues we may have together, and be there for each other. That doesn't mean I don't want you in my bed again as soon as I can manage."

Skylar flushed, suddenly very aware of the press of Cullen's body against her own.

He chuckled, a warm and satisfied sound as he captured her lips with his again. 

She was aware of Leopold running around them, the warmth of the fading sun on the back of her neck, the heat of Cullen against her, and the desire sparking in her own body. After several moments she pulled back, her breath coming a bit faster than she intended. "Cullen, take me back home," she told him firmly.

He gave her that chuckle again, a wicked glint in his eyes, and took her hand, leading her back towards the Sanctuary, and more specifically, back towards his bedroom.

~~~  
When Skylar slipped back into the room she'd shared with Rosalie the following morning, Cullen's younger sister gave her a very knowing look as Skylar dressed for the day. It was also rather hard to miss the marks that Cullen had left on Skylar's neck.

There were more knowing looks that morning at breakfast, as Mia grinned at her and went to sit on the other side of the table next to Rosalie, leaving an empty spot beside Cullen.

Skylar resisted the urge to blush as she slipped into the spot on the bench beside Cullen and ate her breakfast. It seemed everyone knew exactly what they'd gotten up to the previous evening, and no one seemed particularly surprised.

It made Skylar relax a bit more as her thigh pressed against Cullen's. They were on a small Sanctuary in Feredlan, not the middle of some royal court, and no one here was going to worry or object to her relationship with Cullen. Even if they did have to deal with nobility at some point in the future, and they would if they were to expand the Sanctuary, Skylar no longer cared about the kind of attention it attracted. She'd saved the world, twice Maker take it, and she and Cullen deserved a bit of happiness.

Cullen smiled as he visibly watched her relax. He knew that Skylar had always been very much aware of appearance, even if she didn't particularly like or care for it. They still had a ways to go, but the idea that she was comfortable, and even proud of physically demonstrating they were in a relationship warmed him.

Someday, he thought, he would ask her to marry him. He knew that they would have troubles and still had a lot to smooth out, but her presence next to him right now gave him a great deal of hope.

When Suzanna cornered Skylar in the office later that morning, Skylar wasn't the least bit surprised. The healer approached Skylar with a straightforwardness that Skylar honestly found refreshing.

"You'd best take better care of what you have this time, Skylar," Suzanna told her firmly. "Don't hurt him again, not like you did, and don't let him hurt you."

Skylar did blink at that. She'd been expecting the shovel talk, but not the last part.

Suzanna lips quirked into a smile at Skylar's confused expression. "You and Cullen, you're both my friends," she informed the Inquisitor. "There is a great deal of potential between the two of you, and I know you both still love each other. But the two of you also still have the chance to hurt each other deeply, because you do love each other. I want both of you to be careful." She grinned then. "I already gave Cullen the talk this morning."

Skylar stared at her for a moment before she found herself laughing softly. "Oh Maker, Suzanna. My friend, do not ever change."

"I won't," Suzanna assured her. She patted Skylar's shoulder and turned to go.

"Oh, and Suzanna," Skylar glanced at the healer as Suzanna started for the door. "You should talk to Lysette."

The healer flushed lightly, before she slipped out Skylar's office without another world.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skylar formulates a plan and makes a long put off visit to Val Royeaux.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If some of you are still reading this, I hope to wrap this story up in the next chapter. I hope you've enjoyed Trevelyan's journey and the rekindling of the relationship between Cullen and the former Inquisitor.

Skylar could hear Susanna humming to herself as she worked in the still room, and the sounds of former Templars working in the yard, either training or working repair farm equipment. Branson and Cullen would be in the fields, Mia and her children would be making repairs to the house, and Rosalie would be in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and preparing meals for everyone. The Rutherford Farm and former Templar Sanctuary was a lively place on any given day, and Skylar found she much preferred it here to the almost empty mansion she'd lived at in Kirkwall. Even with frequent visits to Hawke and Varric, even with helping Varric with business here and there, her life had been incredibly quiet and lonely in Kirkwall except for Lysette.

In the months since Skylar and Lysette had first arrived at the Sanctuary, she'd seen her friend go from serious lyrium withdrawal to fiercely loyal and active woman she'd known back in Haven and at Skyhold. They saved more former Templars than they lost, but for some who had left the Order, it was still too late, and all that could be done was to ease their passing. With the changes that Leliana had made to the Chantry, they were seeing more Templars leaving the Order, and the need for the Sanctuary was growing. As a result, they were running out of resources and space yet again.

They'd managed to weather the winter, but barely, and mostly with generous donations from the Fereldan crown. It helped, but Cullen and everyone else knew they could not depend on such generosity forever. 

Skylar looked down at the books she'd been spent most of the morning balancing, the pale sunlight of early spring illuminating the pages. Spring for some meant hope, planting season, new growth, but Skylar worried at their almost dangerously low supply stores and lack of space. She had a stack of letters to one side of her desk, requests for space at the Sanctuary for former Templars who needed their help, but they were stretched so thin now they had no room for new residents. 

Over the winter, Skylar had moved into Cullen's small room, and two former female Templars had taken her place in Rosalie's room. Lysette was boarding with Susanna, Mia's children slept with her, and Branson shared his room with three Templars. The small barracks and haylofts were filled as well, and they had no room in their infirmary right now.

It was time, Skylar decided, that she take a trip she'd been putting off for the past two months. With spring finally here, travel would be easier, and she could make it to Val Royeaux hopefully within days instead of weeks that it would have taken in bad weather. At least she could travel on horseback and not on foot. She'd gotten more proficient at riding one handed over the years since the Inquisition had disbanded. She'd spent a good part of the winter exchanging letters with both Cassandra, Varric, and King Alistair of Fereldan, and from those letters had been born a solution to the Sanctuary's problems.

Since the Inquisition had disbanded, its former headquarters at Skyhold had nominally been given over to Chantry control. She knew from checking with Cassandra that currently it housed a few scholars who wished to study the place at the leave of Divine Victoria, but it's current population was certainly nowhere near the number of people it had housed during the Inquisition. She'd also been informed by Varric that there was still a decent amount of trade going in and out of the village that had been established outside of Skyhold during the years it had served as the Inquisition's Headquarters.

What better use for Skyhold now than as a Sanctuary?

Skylar had spent hours over the past two months writing up and revising her proposition for Divine Victoria. She knew that Leliana supported Cullen's Sanctuary, but she also knew that Leliana may not publicly feel she could turn over Skyhold to people intending it to be just a sanctuary for former Templars. Skylar's plan was twofold. Firstly, it would become a Sanctuary of healing, not just for former Templars. Secondly, it would continue to function as a library for scholars and healers alike. She knew Leliana's feelings on people getting a second chance in life, and for healing, both physical and mental, that some people needed after the chaos that had beset Thedas over the past few decades.

Skylar had spoken quietly to Susanna about the idea and the healer had been surprisingly enthusiastic.

"A place for the best healers to gather? A place for other healers to come and learn new techniques, and serve the former Templars and others who need healing at the same time? Sky, it's perfect!" Susanna had told her. "And all that space?"

Skylar rolled her shoulders and straightened in her chair, sore from bending over all morning over ledgers and letters. She grunted softly as she stood up. Years of fighting and old wounds suffered as Inquisitor often ached on chilly days like today. The climate of Skyhold wasn't much different, but at least there she could probably claim an office with a fireplace. Josephine's former office came to mind and she grinned to herself. It would make a good main office for herself, Cullen, and Susanna, and they could repair the war room and turn it into..

"Are you alright, my love?" Cullen's warm voice cut into her thoughts. Skylar glanced over to see him standing in the doorway, a sheen of sweat on his brow from a morning of working in the fields. It must be lunch time, she thought idly, if he was back here. 

"I'm fine, dearheart," she told him with a smile. She crossed the distance between them and leaned up, brushing her lips lightly against his own. "Just thinking is all." She glanced back at the stack of letters on her desk. "I think that it may be time for me to make that trip to Val Royeaux."

Cullen's blond brows creased a moment and then his expression cleared. "To see Leliana about Skyhold?" he asked. He looked thoughtful. "I'll need a few days, but I think we can be prepared to leave by the end of the week." He chuckled softly when she lifted a brow at him. "You didn't think I'd let you travel to Val Royeaux with just Lysette did you? I think you and I, and one or two of the others should go. Lysette, Susanna, and my family can run the Sanctuary while we're gone."

"Do you think it will work?" Skylar asked him, for a moment a hint of doubt in her eyes as she met his golden gaze.

"The way you're determined to pitch it as a healing sanctuary for all?" Cullen asked. "I think it will go over even better than you can imagine, Sky." He smiled. "Leliana could do with a bit of good publicity, as Josephine would say, and this will make her look perhaps a bit more...benign to some people? She's worked up quite a reputation for how she deals with those who disagree with her."

"Excellent point." Skylar nodded, letting Cullen take her left arm and steer her out of the office and towards the main building of the farm. "Alright, I'd start seeing to what you need to then. The sooner we can get this plan rolling, the better."

~~~

Years ago, when she was still just Lady Skylar Trevelyan, third daughter of Lord Trevelyan and her parents' throw away child, she would have been intimidated by Val Royeaux and the Sunburst Throne. Her years as Inquisitor, facing down demons, darkspawn, ancient magistars, crazy Duchesses, and scheme Empresses had cured her of any of that. When Lady Trevelyan rode through the streets of Val Royeaux now, she did it with a confidence and manner that could both inspire and intimidate. 

Maker but Cullen was proud of her. When they'd first arrived in Val Royeaux a few days ago, there had been some Orlesian nobles who felt they could intimidate and lord over the former Inquisitor. She had, after all, given up that title and all power attached to it when she'd disbanded the Inquisition. Those poor fools forgot that the woman behind the title hadn't changed, though, and everything she'd done for Thedas still carried a great deal of weight with some people, particularly the Divine herself.

Tonight, Cullen and Skylar were dining privately with Divine Victoria, Lady Josephine, and Lady Cassandra, who somehow just happened to all be in Val Royeaux while Skylar and Cullen were. Cullen suspected Leliana had written to Josephine and Cassandra directly when she'd found out that Skylar was coming to visit Val Royeaux.

Skylar had presented her idea formally to Divine Victoria the day before. Cullen recalled how elegant Skylar had looked in the center of the room, standing before the Sunburst throne as she delivered her proposal. The red, blue, and gold uniforms of the Inquisition were a memory, and Skylar had presented herself in the finest deerskin and green silk, perhaps a bit wild for the tastes of local nobility, but it had looked formal enough, and frankly Cullen had preferred it: an interesting mix of Free Marcher and Orlesian fashion that would not soon be forgotten. He'd braided her hair himself for the occasion.

She didn't come before the clerics or even the Divine as a supplicant.

It was a bold move, but Leliana at least had appreciated it. Some might consider that Skylar still held a certain claim to Skyhold, since she had been the head of the organization that had found it, restored it, and claimed it for the first time in centuries.

Divine Victoria had formally promised an answer in three days’ time after she had conferred with the Grand Clerics and others in the Chantry.

Tonight, though was just a meeting between old friends. It had been years since any of the former Inquisitor and her advisors had met, and Cullen was looking forward to the evening. He rode confidently beside Skylar as he considered his own plans for tonight. Since the night, so many months ago now, that he and Skylar had decided to renew their romance, he'd considered what he had planned for tonight a hundred times over the winter. It seemed fitting for it to happen at dinner with some of their oldest friends, those who had been with them from the beginning of all of this.

Their arrival was heralded with a certain amount of pomp, since Leliana was the Divine, and they were lead to her private dining room and announced with a small amount of fan fair.

Skylar glanced at the doorway as she and Cullen were seated at the table, after their guide had vanished, after food was served, and they were left alone with their friends.

Josephine and Cassandra refused to stand on ceremony, of course, and greeted both Skylar and Cullen with warm embraces. Skylar noted some streaks of gray in Cassandra's hair now, and a certain level of comfort and happiness that she hadn't seen in the early days of the Inquisition. Cassandra had spent the past few years working on restoring the Seekers, and though it was hard work, both Cullen and Skylar could tell it was work that made the former Seeker truly happy.

Josephine told them of her engagement to Lord Otranto of Antiva, and the look on Leliana's face as Josephine spoke told Skylar that the Divine had already investigated the man an ensured that he was worthy of their dear Josephine. 

"The formal decision won't be delivered for another day," Leliana told them. "But I am going to grant your petition. Skyhold sits mostly empty now, and it needs life there to thrive. What better use for a former headquarters of a military operation than a Healing Sanctuary? You'll receive formal support, both political and monetary, from the Chantry, but from others as well I suspect, such as Celene and Alastair. But I want you to have a level of autonomy. It isn't the Inquisition, your purpose is different now, but of all people, I trust you and Cullen to establish this Sanctuary, and to choose your successors after you."

"The Seekers can help," Cassandra put in. "What some of them experienced before and after the war...some of them need healing, some of them need rest, and in return we can provide the support and ally-ship of the Seekers of Truth."

"I'm relieved to see you two together again," Cassandra told Skylar and Cullen as she watched them interact at dinner. They hadn't made any effort to hide their relationship since getting back together, and Skylar and Cassandra had exchanged several letters since Skylar had arrived at the Sanctuary and later renewed her relationship with Cullen. "You two always worked well together, as friends and as lovers...and you both deserve to be happy."

Skylar squeezed Cullen's hand with her own as she spoke. "I'm relieved you approve, Cassandra," the former Inquisitor said with some lightness. "And I am relieved, and forever thankful, that Cullen gave me a second chance." She turned her green eyes towards her lover for a moment, glad that fate had brought them together once again, and that they'd been able to rebuild a relationship.

"Some things are simply meant to be," Josephine told them with a smile. "You are happy together, and you know each other's strengths and weaknesses. You can support each other through the good and bad. Such relationships are rare and precious."

Leliana merely gave them a smug smile, as if she'd known all along the outcome of their relationship. Or, Skylar thought, as if she knew something that Skylar did not.

"I'm just glad that Skylar came back to me," Cullen told the room at large, meeting the gazes of Leliana, Josephine, and Cassandra. Then he turned those amber orbs to Skylar and squeezed her hand. "My love, the first time we parted, it broke my heart, and I do not think I could survive a second such parting." He shifted as he spoke, pushing his chair back, and Skylar's green eyes went wide as he knelt on one knee in front of her. "Skylar Trevelyan, you captured a part of me from the first moment I knew you. We were on a battlefield, bloodied and weary, but your determination shown through like a sun that day. You are the strongest, perhaps the most stubborn woman I have ever known, and the only one I will ever love as I do you." He pressed a simple silver band set with fire green topaz into her right hand. "Will you marry me, Skylar?"

Skylar could feel Cassandra and Josephine watching, excitement in their expressions, and expectation and a smirk on Leliana's face, but her eyes were all for Cullen.

The former Inquisitor laughed and pulled Cullen up, holding her right hand out and letting him slip the ring on. "There is no one else in Thedas that I would have, Cullen, as my spouse, then you. I love you, Cullen Rutherford, and I'd be honored to be your wife."

Skylar was aware of the whoop of joy from Cassandra and Josephine's happy tears as Leliana ordered a fine wine to celebrate as she let Cullen pull her into a firm embrace and pressed her lips against his own.

Through determination, love, and second chances, she and Cullen made their relationship work, and right now, she could not ask for anything better than this.


	8. Skyhold (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skylar and Cullen return to the place where the Inquisition itself really started, and look forward to the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for any readers who stuck with me through to the end. I hope you enjoyed the story.  
> Find me on Tumblr @serstolas

Her eyes swept from the end of the great hall where a throne once stood to the ceilings, and then to the small groupings of people milling about the hall itself. Beyond the great hall, she could hear people through the open door, conducting business, unpacking wagons, or merely discussing the weather. They'd been here a few months now, and the silence that had greeted them when they first arrived had been replaced with a lively and generally happy atmosphere. 

Skylar recalled the eerie quiet of the place when she'd first entered the great hall with Mia and her two children upon their first arrival here. There had been very few people in residence at Skyhold since the Inquisition had disbanded, just a handful of scholars and one or two servants who tended to keep to the library tower where Leliana had once held court, the kitchens, and nearby living quarters. Most of the fortress had remained untouched, collecting dust as time wore on. 

Skylar had been more than a little surprised to find one Michel de Chevin in residence. Empress Celene's former champion had not struck Skylar as the bookish type, but he'd told Skylar that Skyhold and serving as occasional bodyguard and security for the scholars in residence had given him a new purpose after the Inquisition had disbanded and he was no longer needed as an agent. He'd met the Rutherfords and other members of the Sanctuary in the Skyhold courtyard with one of the scholars when they'd first arrived.

Originally when Skylar and Cullen arrived back at the Rutherford farm and the Sanctuary, Rosalie, Branson, and Mia had considered remaining in Fereldan on the farm that their parents had worked so hard on. Without so many in residence, they would be able to start growing food to sell again, verses just keeping those in the Sanctuary fed. Yet after the entire family putting so much effort into the Sanctuary over the past few years, and the fact that none of the Rutherford siblings wanted to see their older brother vanish again, they'd made the decision, one by one, to join Cullen, Skylar, Susanna, and the former templars on the journey. 

It was possible that the Maker had watched over them, Skylar thought, during their journey. Sadly the worst of their patients had passed a few months before they'd planned to move the Sanctuary, but the remaining patients who could not yet care for themselves could be moved, carefully, slowly, but they could be moved. It had taken several long weeks to move everyone to Skyhold, but the weather had held through most of it, and they'd arrived safely at the mountain fortress.

That first walk through the great hall with her future sister-in-law and niece and nephew had reminded Skylar too much of her last walk through the fortress, before the last of the Inquisition's forces had left. She'd turned to Mia when they'd reached the throne that had still dominated the end of the room and said that they needed to return life to this place.

"And remove this," Skylar said with some distaste as she touched the throne. 

Mia had lifted a brow. "I hear it was a rather important piece of furniture during your time as Inquisitor though. You don't think it needs to remain?"

Skylar shook her head violently. "I am no longer Inquisitor, I am not making political decisions that change the world. I'm the diplomat for the Sanctuary. I don't want a throne...honestly Mia I never did."

Mia had broken into a smile and wrapped an arm around Skylar's shoulders. "I didn't think you did, but I wanted to hear you say it. We'll talk to the former templars about removing it. We're here to give Skyhold a fresh start." She grinned. "Besides, it's in the way of the perfect spot for you and Cullen to marry."

Skylar had groaned. "Don't remind me about wedding preparations. We should have just married before the move on the farm, but there's too many of our friends that would have missed it."

"I'll worry about planning the wedding, you worry about running the Sanctuary," Mia informed her.

Their goal to build a sanctuary of healing, for both mental and physical ailments, had already begun to take shape, and Skylar found herself spending most of her days in the office that Josephine used to occupy, sorting through account ledgers, inquiries, and other paperwork associated with the Sanctuary. She'd informed Cullen in a tone that brooked no argument that he was not taking his office in the tower up again. A second desk had been added to the room Josephine used to occupy, and the former Inquisitor and her former Commander spent many of their days in companionable silence, able to look up from their desk and smile across the room at their lover before turning to their next task. 

Skylar had also steadfastly refused to move into her old quarters again. Slowly workmen, paid with funds currently provided by the Chantry since the Chantry was technically the Sanctuary's largest sponser, were fitting the quarters into multiple rooms that could be used by guests. Given it's placement, the War Room was being properly repaired to be turned into a massive library of healing and other texts. The library tower where Leliana had once worked didn't provide nearly enough space for all the books and knowledge Skylar wanted to house in this place.

The Rutherfords had all taken up quarters along the second story that overlooked the Skyhold gardens, including Skylar and Cullen. These rooms were close enough to their office for daily access, but far enough away that Skylar felt they could go to bed without bringing work to bed with them. 

More scholars, healers, and former Templars had arrived within the first few weeks of their arrival. There were mages among the healers, associated with the new College of Magi, and one or two who had come from the new Circle Vivienne had established. There'd been some minor disagreements between them, but after the first true blow up, Skylar had torn into both groups and they'd put aside their arguments.

Now residents of Skyhold, be they healer mage, healer, former templar, scholar, or staff, filled the place with a new kind of energy that Skylar hadn't seen during the Inquisition. Their purpose here was not borne out of a need to defeat evil or out of desperation. It was borne out of a desire to heal, and out of hope.

Thus far they hadn't come up with a better name, and everyone was just calling it the Sanctuary. She had a feeling the name would stick.

"Sky are you paying attention?" Mia asked a second time.

Skylar blinked and smiled faintly. "Sorry, woolgathering, Mia. Just thinking about all the changes since we arrived here."

Mia smiled, idly jotting something on her clipboard, much as Josephine had all those years ago. "I was asking if you wanted lilies or roses for decoration."

Skylar's eyes flickered towards the front of the room, where in a few months time she would stand with Cullen and exchange their vows, complete with the Divine preceding over their wedding. Leliana had told them she would accept no one else marrying the former inquisitor and commander. "Lilies, I think, Roses have their place, but Lilies make me think more of spring and newness."

Mia nodded in satisfaction and made another note. "Never thought I'd ever be planning the biggest wedding of the century. I know you aren't Inquisitor anymore, but Thedas has not forgotten what you did, Sky." She tapped her board with her quill. "Thankfully Josephine will be here within the next few days to help finish the planning. She's been a Maker-send since we started."

Skylar's lips twisted in amusement. "Well I'll leave the planning to you two, Cullen and I have enough to deal with otherwise." She sighed. "On that note, I need to go find your brother. We need to meet with Susanna to discuss a new patient who should be arriving soon."

"Good luck with that," Mia replied. "And I'll have the list of necessary supplies to you later this evening."

Skylar gave her thanks and went to find Cullen. Each of the Rutherford siblings had fallen into a different job once they'd established the Sanctuary at Skyhold. Rosalie helped Susanna with logistics for the patience, Susanna headed up the healers, Branson had surprised everyone and took charge of working with the scholars who came and went from the Sanctuary, and Mia acted as Skylar's own assistant. Skylar didn't know if the two Rutherford children might be interested in continuing working at the Sanctuary one day, but for now, it was definitely a family affair.

A family that Skylar greatly looked forward to joining. When her parents had received word that she would be marrying the former Commander of the Inquisition, they had sent back to most neutrally worded reply that Skylar had ever seen, but one that amounted to "Don't embarrass us or ask us for money." They had also steadfastly refused an invitation to the wedding, as had her oldest brother and his wife. It had hurt to an extend, but it was the sort of reply that Skylar had long since come to expect from the Trevelyans.

Her second oldest brother, Mathin, had sent a separate letter, however, promising that he would attend. It had been years since she'd really communicated with Mathin, but since he'd accepted the wedding invitation, they'd written several letters back and forth. It was nice knowing that even though she was gaining a wonderful family in the Rutherfords, at least one person from her own blood still gave a damn.

Cullen met her on the steps outside the great hall, offering his arm, which Skylar slipped her right arm through as they decended the steps and moved down towards the walls and quarters across from the great hall that had been converted into the clinic that served the Sanctuary. Work had recently been completed on the former prison cells as well, removing all evidence of the cells completely and turning the area into well furnished and comfortable quarters for long term patients. It was another way they turned a place of war into a place of healing and hope, Skylar thought.

"Hello, my love," Cullen said as he caught her lips briefly against his own. His eyes crinkled. "Mia going on about wedding planning again." 

"Of course," Skylar replied. "Meeting with Susanna gives me a good excuse to escape though."

Cullen laughed merrily, a sound that was far more common in the past year than when Skylar had first arrived at the Rutherford farm. "Then lets not keep Susanna waiting, lest my sister come looking for you."

With an answering grin, Skylar let her future husband lead her towards the clinic, happiness writ in her expression, and hope for the future in her heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes yes, I know another potential lover for Cullen and jealousy wasn't necessary, as he and Skylar have enough problems of their own, but it just sort of happened.
> 
> And Cullen's family seems a little too forgiving? Well, maybe they hold out a bit more hope based on what Cullen's said, and maybe they're just willing to see what happens after Cullen and Skylar see each other again. Or they could simply just be kindhearted.


End file.
